Most of the people think of dieting as equivalent of starving or popping slimming pills. Weight loss can be achieved by pleasurable dieting too. Follow a few simple rules for healthy dieting and you have a wide choice of what you can eat to please your fancy. Healthy diet and adequate exercises are the sure and safe ways to lose weight.

Healthy diet will protect your body from illnesses by providing appropriate nutrients. At the same time you would be able to shed the excess fat gradually in a safe way by maintaining proper balance of the essential constituents; that’s the trick of natural weight loss.

There are many websites that will help you determine what should be your calorie intake, based on your personal details and based on your diet they can also tell you what your present intake is..

A Well-Balanced Diet should include nutrient rich carbohydrates, high-quality protein, and healthy fats.

Carbohydrates
About 40-60% of your calorie intake should come from carbohydrates. That means if you\’re on a 1500 calories a day diet, you should be striving to get about 800 calories a day from “good” carbs. Restrict or avoid white flour, desserts and ice creams. Cut out soda-pop and candy. They contribute to weight gain and add nothing to health. Use oatmeal or whole grain cereal instead. Include whole grain breads, fruits and vegetables, oatmeal, whole grain cereals. You will be getting sufficient vitamins, amino acids and fiber too; you will feel fuller longer.

Proteins
About 20-30% of your calories i.e. about 375 calories should come from “wild” (not processed or farm raised) animal sources such as fish, meat, poultry, yogurt and eggs and from vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grains, and seeds.

Fats
The balance calorie intake, about 325 in our example, shall come from “good” fats such as “wild” cold-water fish, flaxseed, walnuts, etc. They give Omega 3 essential fatty acid that is very essential for your overall health. Avoid or at least limit use of hydrogenated oils.

A few general comments:
Fish: Fish is low in fat, high in protein (as red meat), and provides omega 3 fatty acids which few other proteins would. Also as a general rule fish has fewer calories. Try to eat at least 2-3 servings of fish per week as replacement to meat.
Spinach: This is the cheapest source of nutrition for your body. It is rich in folic acid, minerals, and vitamins. You can prepare it in a variety of ways. Use it often in your diet.

Olive Oil: It is a “good” fat with loads of benefits to the body. This is a basic source of fat in the Mediterranean diet.

Follow these simple suggestions, and happy dieting!

Ever since obesity has been termed as an epidemic, it has attracted attention throughout the world. In America weight loss has become an industry. The air is thick with discussions and counter-discussions about various diet plans being proposed by various people.

There is a 5-Factor Diet, Atkins Diet, Bob Greene\’s Best Life Diet, South Beach Diet, Cabbage Soup Diet, Carbohydrate Addict\’s Diet, Anne Collin’s diet and now you have DASH diet and Fat Smash Diet and Size Zero Diet and …. it goes on!

Proponents of each of these diet plans make claims of how much weight you will lose and how rapidly you will lose weight. Some go to the extent of claiming that you will lose up to 10-12 lbs in a week whereas medical experts warn that such claims are ridiculous and weight loss of such proportions can come about only by losing water which is detrimental to the system. Moreover there is always the danger of gaining weight just as rapidly when you stop working on the plan.

Essentially all these plans boil down to a few basics! The body weight is contributed by fat, muscles, bones and water. Excess calorie intake is responsible for increased weight and so cut down the excess intake of calories. Increase metabolism so that stored fat can be burnt off; burn off the fat that is stored in the body by exercises and fat burning food. But do not starve the body of the essential nutrients.

Basically diet plans fall into three broad categories: the “fad diets”, those that are based on specially processed food and those that can be called as “natural diet” plans.

There is no clear definition of “fad diet”; it is very subjective. Fad diet is popularly believed to be a poor weight loss diet. A fad diet generally becomes very popular very quickly and falls out of favor just as quickly. Fad diets quite often claim very quick weight loss. Their claims for efficacy are generally not confirmed by any legitimate scientific studies. Often promoted by parties that publish books about the diet or those that sell some supplements or ingredients that are part of the fad diet, a fad diet may not achieve anything at all or at times may have an adverse effect on health.

The natural diet plan is based on use of food constituents that are normally in your diet; it recommends some of the constituents as being helpful and some others as being harmful from the point of view of weight loss. For example, it may recommend certain fish such as Sardines, herrings, etc as providing beneficial Omega 3 fatty acids or may recommend use of lean meat but not others such as pork; it may recommend low-fat skimmed milk but not the normal fresh milk. Natural diet is based on very clearly understood and recognized scientific knowledge.

The third category of diet plans mentioned above are based on use of specially processed food ingredients or supplements; this category is so highly commercialized that even if it has scientific basis at times lies on the boundary of fad diet plans.

As the air starts losing the cold bite of winter, you are happy in anticipation of the summer. You start planning holidays to sea resorts with friends and family. Until that fateful moment when you realize you have been too lax with your body and you are not in shape for the summer activities and swimming trunks or bathing suits cannot accommodate your body any more!

Still don’t despair! Summer weight loss is still possible. Remember that losing weight is influenced to the extent of 70% to 80% by what and how you eat and the balance by the physical activities and exercises. Cut down intake of excess calories which increase fat in the body and exercise the body which will help in to burn body fat and to lose weight.

The following simple natural weight loss suggestions if implemented can help you with summer weight loss and shape up your body to face summer with confidence in a matter of three to four weeks.

Drink at least 8 to 10 glasses of water per day.

Water plays very important role in our body functions. Body fat and bones account for 20% of water each, lean muscle tissues are 75% water and over 80% of our blood is water. Water helps kidneys remove toxins allowing liver to metabolize more fat. It works as a natural suppressant of appetite;

Put alcohol on highly restricted list if you are serious on losing weight. Alcohol helps body in storing fat by slowing down metabolism;

Main culprits causing excess weight are saturated fats. Saturated fats and sugar are strictly no-no for weight watchers. Avoid desserts, ice creams, etc;

Include low fat milk products such as yogurt, skimmed milk, cottage cheese in diet; they contain “good proteins” which help suppress cravings for food. They are essential in building muscles;

Vegetables, beans, whole grains and fruits contain “good” carbohydrates which are moderate on calories and fats, they are consumed slowly by the body and thus they help suppress hunger naturally;

Omega 3 fatty acids increase metabolism and energy levels of the body. Eat fish such as Mackerel, Salmon, Sardines and Herrings; they are rich Omega 3 fatty acids which help prevent blood clotting, regulate blood pressure, and lower risk of heart failure. They are helpful in weight loss;.

Eat four or five meals of smaller portions instead of the normal three meals. Smaller meals at shorter intervals help metabolism and burn fat; it helps to lose weight;

Eat adequate fiber food. Fiber food is more filling and it suppresses hunger. It takes longer in digestion and passing through the body it attaches to some fats and proteins in our food and thus keeps them from being digested. Whole grains, brown rice, figs, Apples, broccoli, peas, lentils, beans, fresh vegetables and fruits and nuts are high on fiber content;

Spices such as ginger, mustard, pepper, cinnamon, clove, bay leaf, etc decrease sugar cravings and are helpful in weight loss;

Avoid late night meals within the two to three hours before going to bed. Allow time for digestion of the meal before going to bed